July 12, 2014. On July 9th, C4ST (Canadians for Safe Technology) held a news conference in Ottawa asking for Health Canada to provide adequate Safety Code 6 guidelines to protect the public against radiofrequency radiation exposure. C4ST is not alone.

This past week two declarations, one from Physicians (22 Canadian doctors) and one from Research Scientists (53 international scientists) were presented to Health Canada. These two declarations are provided below and have also been added to the July 11, 2011 post of international appeals/resolutions/declarations calling for similar protection.

It is unconscionable that the primary health authority in Canada, Health Canada, has failed to provide protection against radiofrequency radiation as levels continue to increase in homes, schools, hospitals, offices, airports and airplanes, city streets, and residential neighbourhoods.

People are becoming ill and so far the medical profession in Canada, apart from a few enlightened individuals, is largely ignorant of the health risks of continuous exposure to wireless technology. As long as levels fall below Safety Code 6 (SC6), an obsolete guideline based on a heating of tissue, we are told this technology is safe. Since levels seldom exceed SC6 the public, school officials, parents, teachers, doctors and nurses are under the false impression that they are all safe. Even when levels exceed SC6, Health Canada officials tell us there is nothing to worry about! Yet a growing number of people are becoming ill once a smart meter is attached to their home or Wi-Fi routers are installed in schools.

How much suffering are individuals expected to endure before Health Canada will admit that their guideline is inadequate and that levels need to be hundreds of times lower to protect the public and thousands of times lower to protect those who have already become sensitive to this radiation?

When will Health Canada recommend there be white zones in public places (areas without radiation) similar to “smoke-free” environments?

Why is it not OK for children under the age of 18 to use cell phones but OK for these same children to be exposed to Wi-Fi microwave radiation all day in school?

Who is Health Canada protecting as they are definitely not protecting the health of Canadians!

Scientists and physicians tend to be conservative in their desire to become involved in political issues. They seldom speak out and would prefer to provide information behind the scene and only when asked to do so. This private communication with Health Canada has been fruitless and now a growing number of them are willing to make their concerns public. Hence these two declarations.

Since 1997 more than 22 appeals, resolutions and declarations have been signed by scientists and medical doctors . . . but governments are not listening. The few exceptions where stricter guidelines are used include Russia, China, Italy, Switzerland and several other European countries. While Canada is rushing to install powerful Wi-Fi routers in schools, countries like France are converting to fibre optics and banning Wi-Fi in the classroom!

Let’s hope that these two declarations will provide a turning point in Canada. We need to educate doctors on how to diagnose electrohypersensitivity and how to help their patients recover.

We also need better guidelines and warnings from Health Canada to protect the health of all Canadians and especially children so that we can divert the health tsunami that is just around the corner.

Health Canada . . . time to come clean and live up to your responsibility to protect the Health of Canadians.

]]>Statistical re-analysis confirms that people living near a GSM base station at greater risk of developing symptoms of electrohypersensitivity.http://www.magdahavas.com/statistical-re-analysis-confirms-that-people-living-near-a-gsm-base-station-at-greater-risk-of-developing-symptoms-of-electrohypersensitivity/
Thu, 02 Jan 2014 00:27:25 +0000http://www.magdahavas.com/?p=4298

January 1, 2014: Happy New Year Everyone! We are off to a good start with this publication in the British Medical Journal Open Access by Gomez-Perretta et al. entitled Subjective symptoms related to GSM radiation from mobile phone base stations: A cross-sectional study. Since this is open access a copy is available here. The abstract is below.

This study re-assesses statistical data from Navarro et al. (2003) and confirms that people who live near GSM base stations have a greater risk of experiencing the following symptoms: fatigue, irritability, headaches, nausea, lack of appetite, trouble sleeping, depression, problems with concentration, memory, vertigo, as well as with visual, skin and vascular problems. The only two symptoms that were not statistically significant (i.e. do not relate to living near a cell phone antenna base station) were hearing and walking. Potential confounders such as worry about base stations as well as computer and mobile phone use did not significantly affect the results. This implies that the symptoms were not due to psychosomatic fear of living near a base station and were not due to radiation exposure associated with mobile phones and computers.

This report adds to the other studies that document increased risk of biological and health effects, including cancers, for people who live within 500 meters of cell phone base stations. Time for health authorities to stop ignoring these studies and to provide protection to the populations who are most at risk. Also time to not place antennas on or near schools, hospitals, in residential areas without proper screening of the occupants, especially those on the top floor of these buildings and those living nearby.

Objectives: We performed a re-analysis of the data from Navarro et al (2003) in which health symptoms related to microwave exposure from mobile phone base stations (BSs) were explored, including data obtained in a retrospective inquiry about fear of exposure from BSs.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: La Ñora (Murcia), Spain.Participants: Participants with known illness in 2003 were subsequently disregarded: 88 participants instead of 101 (in 2003) were analysed. Since weather circumstances can influence exposure, we restricted data to measurements made under similar weather conditions.
Outcomes and methods: A statistical method indifferent to the assumption of normality was employed: namely, binary logistic regression for modelling a binary response (eg, suffering fatigue (1) or not (0)), and so exposure was introduced as a predictor variable. This analysis was carried out on a regular basis and bootstrapping (95% percentile method) was used to provide more accurate CIs.Results: The symptoms most related to exposure were lack of appetite (OR=1.58, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.03); lack of concentration (OR=1.54, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.89); irritability (OR=1.51, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.85); and trouble sleeping (OR=1.49, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.84). Changes in –2 log likelihood showed similar results. Concerns about the BSs were strongly related with trouble sleeping (OR =3.12, 95% CI 1.10 to 8.86). The exposure variable remained statistically significant in the multivariate analysis. The bootstrapped values were similar to asymptotic CIs.Conclusions: This study confirms our preliminary results. We observed that the incidence of most of the symptoms was related to exposure levels— independently of the demographic variables and some possible risk factors. Concerns about adverse effects from exposure, despite being strongly related with sleep disturbances, do not influence the direct association between exposure and sleep.

]]>Wi-Fi routers being considered in Peel District School Board, Canada.http://www.magdahavas.com/wi-fi-routers-being-considered-in-peel-district-school-board-canada/
Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:48:27 +0000http://www.magdahavas.com/?p=4101

February 24, 2013. The following is an open letter I sent on February 15, 2013 to Tony Pontes (Director of Education) and Janet McDougald (Chair of Trustees) at the Peel District School Board, the second largest School Board in Ontario.

February 15, 2013, Magda Havas wrote:

Tony Pontes and Janet McDougald

I write to you because I am convinced Wi-Fi technology is harmful and should not be introduced into the classroom. I know that my opinion may not mean very much to you as it is contrary to what Health Canada says, however, I have been studying environmental toxins since 1975 and, based on my many years of research in this broad area, I believe that we are making a serious mistake that will be much more harmful than asbestos in the classroom ever was. I do not make this statement lightly.

It is my understanding that the PDSB, like many other school boards across Canada, is considering Wi-Fi technology as the primary source of Internet access. Please read the attached letter regarding Wi-Fi and microwave radiation in the classroom before you make any firm decisions about deployment of this technology.

My original research was on acid rain and we were able to bring in clean air legislation despite federal government scientists making claims that there was no such thing as acid rain. The same is happening today with radiation from wireless technology. It takes decades before the science is translated into policy when it comes to environmental toxins.

A strong lobby is trying to sell as many Wi-Fi routers to schools as possible because it is a lucrative business for the manufacturers and distributors. I guarantee that if the PDSB goes ahead and installs Wi-Fi routers many students and teachers are going to become ill. I know this because I work with people who have developed a sensitivity to this radiation. I’m currently doing research on how to diagnose and treat people who have developed electrosensitivity and I provide training sessions and lecture to doctors, workplace safety officers, as well as the general public.

Please do not disregard the teachers and parents who are expressing concern about their children being exposed to microwaves in the classroom. Please do not blindly assume Health Canada is correct on this issue as they have been wrong many times before.

If you wish to discuss any of the science regarding the health effects of microwave radiation at levels that are common in schools with Wi-Fi, I’m at your service. Please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

-magda havas

What follows is the pdf that I attached to the email. Click here to download pdf to the Peel District School Board.

For those who would like to send an open letter to their School Boards, a generic open letter regarding Wi-Fi in schools is attached for you to use. Click here to download the generic pdf regarding Wi-Fi in schools.

This is an issue that affects students and teachers and those who work in a school environment no matter where they live.

June 22, 2012. Earlier this year (March 2012), the Austrian Medical Association released a very important document: Guideline of the Austrian Medical Association for the diagnosis and treatment of EMF related health problems and illnesses (EMF syndrome). Consensus paper of the Austrian Medical Association’s EMF Working Group (AG-EMF). Click here for pdf.

If you think you are responding adversely to electromagnetic radiation, it is important that you share this document with your doctor/health care professional. EHS is an emerging illness that has not been taught in most medical schools, especially in North America. However, it is increasing at an alarming rate and now children as well as adults are adversely affected by this radiation.

According to Hallberg and Oberfeld (2006) the prevalence of EHS is increasing and by 2017, 50% of the population is likely to be electrically hypersensitive.

I take a fairly conservative view that perhaps 3% of the population have severe symptoms and that 35% of the population have mild to moderate symptoms. Based on these estimates, the number of people already affected is staggering and continues to increase. See table below.

Below are excerpts from the Austrian Medical Association document Guideline.

There has been a sharp rise in unspecific, often stress-associated health problems that increasingly present physicians with the challenge of complex differential diagnosis. A cause that has been accorded little attention so far is increasing electrosmog exposure at home, at work and during leisure activities, occurring in addition to chronic stress in personal and working life. It correlates with an overall situation of chronic stress that can lead to burnout. [page 1]

…

Physicians are often confronted with unspecific complaints without clearly identifiable causes (Huss and Roosli 2006). It has been suspected that environmental conditions such as increasing exposure of the population to radio waves, emanating e.g. from cordless phones, mobile phone base stations, cell phones, GPRS, UMTS, data cards for laptop and notebook computers and wireless LAN (WLAN), but also exposure to electric and magnetic fields emanating from power lines, devices and equipment, may play a causal role (Blake Levitt and Lai 2010). For the medical profession, this raises new challenges in diagnosis and treatment. A central issue for the causal attribution of symptoms is the assessment of variation in health problems depending on time and location, which is particularly relevant for environmental causes such as EMF exposure. [page 1]

…

In Austria, there are no democratically legitimized limits to protect the general population from EMF exposure. The recommendations of the WHO, compiled by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP 1998), are based on a thermal model. These recommendations were adopted by the EU in its Council Recommendation of 1999 . . . without taking into account long-term non-thermal effects. [page 2]

…

Based on the scientific literature on interactions of EMF with biological systems, several mechanisms of interaction are possible. A plausible mechanism at the intracellular and intercellular level, for instance, is interaction via the formation of free radicals or oxidative and nitrosative stress . . . It centres on the increased formation of peroxynitrite (ONOO-) from a reaction of nitrogen monoxide (NO) with superoxide (O2-). Due to its relatively long half-life, peroxynitrite damages a large number of essential metabolic processes and cell components. [page 3]

This approach can serve as a plausible explanation of many of the health problems, symptoms and their progression observed in the context of EMF exposure. There are increasing indications that EMF syndrome (EMFS) should be counted among multisystem disorders (Pall 2007) such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), fibromyalgia (FM) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). [page 3]

…

How to proceed if EMF-related health problems are suspected [page 4]

The recommended approach to diagnosis and treatment is intended as an aid and should, of course, be modified as each individual case requires.

June 13, 2012. For years doctors at Women’s College Hospital, in the heart of Toronto, have been diagnosing patients with environmental sensitivities that include multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EMS). They have a long waiting list and if you sign up it will take 9 months to a year before a doctor has time to see you.

On May 23, 2012, Women’s College Hospital hosted a workshop and invited physicians, experts and patients to share and discuss ideas related to EMS.

Dr. Riina Bray, their Medical Director, said, “We need to create more awareness about this condition. Health-care practitioners need to better understand EMS so they can help their patients prevent and manage their symptoms. The public needs to know how to protect themselves from the broad range of health impacts electromagnetic fields have on their minds and bodies.”

Among the experts invited was Dr. Magda Havas, Associate Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies, Trent University. During her talk–which was entitled “Electromagnetic sensitivity: Is it psychological or physiological?“–Dr. Havas presented concrete evidence of physiological responses to electrosmog exposure. She also mentioned the guidelines recently released by the Austrian Medical Association on how to diagnose and treat electrosmog-related illnesses.

Dr. Ray Copes, from the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, expressed his personal views about EMS rather than the view of his agencies. He quoted primarily from studies by Rubin who dismisses EMS, although Copes did not seem to have a well informed opinion about whether or not EMS was a real illness.

Dr. Copes did not attend the morning session and did not hear the stores from several of the individuals who have been diagnosed with EMS. He arrived in time to give his lecture and left immediately afterwards. It was clear to those attending that Dr. Copes’s understanding of the research on EMS was limited.

Some of you may recall that Dr. Copes co-authored a paper with Lawrence Loh on Wireless Technology. The paper was entitled: “Are there human health effects related to the use of wireless internet technology (Wi-Fi)?” Click here for pdf. They concluded, “to date there is no plausible evidence that would indicate current public exposures to Wi-Fi are causing adverse effects on health.” Unfortunately, Copes and Loh underestimated radiation levels generated by Wi-Fi exposure in schools.

April 2012. Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and now a member of The Elders—an independent group of global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela—gave the keynote presentation on Thursday April 19, 2012 on the occasion of the Opening for the new School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Brundtland spoke about her training and experience as a physician, in public health, as a Minister of the Environment and later as the first female Prime Minister of Norway and as the head of the WHO. She talked about problems with global health issues including the SARS epidemic and how health authorities and governments around the world put aside their differences and came together quickly to avert a potential global disaster. She spoke about malaria, AIDS, water quality issues, childhood poverty and other illness associated primarily with developing countries.

During her presentation, Dr. Brundtland’s cell phone rang. She paused the presentation and removed her phone from her purse to check to see who was calling. She told us the call was from Oslo and that she would tell us more about it at the reception. She held up the phone and said that it was a Blackberry and acknowledged that the phone was invented at Waterloo, the city where she was giving her talk. She then placed her Blackberry on the podium and continued her presentation.

Dr. Brundtland’s response to her cell phone was most unusual, especially after repeated requests–prior to her presentation–for everyone to turn their cell phone off. Few speakers would take the trouble to find their phone, draw attention to the caller and the manufacturer’s relationship with the university. Some members of the audience believe the cell phone call was staged

At the end of Dr. Brundtland’s talk, the moderator said we had time for 5 questions from the audience. The first question was about arsenic problems in Bangladesh.

I raised my hand and asked the second question.

“Dr. Brundtland, my name is Magda Havas and I’m a professor at Trent University. I work with people who have electrohypersensitivity. In this age of growing exposure to wireless technology and constantly increasing levels of exposure to radiofrequency radiation, what advice do you have for the University of Waterloo and for the rest of Canada and for those who are or will become electrohypersensitive.”

She paused for a few moments and then went on to explain a health issue that has caused a lot of controversy in her life.

Dr. Brundtland said, “Based on your question, I assume you know that I am electrically sensitive. I never place a mobile phone next to my head because in one second I would develop a bad headache. I use the phone in speaker mode,”and she demonstrated with her cell phone, holding it away from her head.

“I answered truthfully to media regarding my sensitivity to mobile phones. My story was written up in a Norwegian paper,”

She cautioned about the overuse of cell phones and went on to explain how she became allergic to microwave radiation.

”Let me tell you how I became electrically sensitive. In my case, it was an accident with a microwave oven. While making lunch for my husband and myself, I placed some food in the microwave oven on a plate that had blue flowers. The plate began to spark, and foolishly, I went closer to have a look. My eyes were damaged and I was blinded for one year. I still have poor eyesight. It turned out that the flowers were made of cobalt blue paint and we know not to put metal into a microwave oven. This happened only two months after I become Director-General of the World Health Organization. I had researched before putting a microwave oven in my home and had convinced myself that it would not be dangerous—which was not correct.

From that incident I became electrically sensitive. I have been heavily criticized as scaring people from using cell phones because I told the truth about my illness.

This is important. We are exposed to different technologies of a new nature. I am frustrated that I was unable to sound the alarm fully. A sentence in an instruction book—where you do not explain the danger of radiofrequency—is not good public health and consumer policy. I became electrically sensitive and have been criticized because I can scare the public. We know they are not inert and there are potential consequences. People who have electrical sensitivity show that we do take some risk. Until we know more, we cannot say this is no problem.”

In the end, Dr. Brundtland said that people who say they are electrically sensitive are not taken seriously. Her final words to the audience were, “Let your children have a mobile phone all day? NO!”

Those of us in the audience, who were familiar with her background, appreciated her honesty. The question period was terminated.

The entire session was videotaped but it is unlikely that her answer will appear because Waterloo is the birthplace for RIM (Research In Motion)—the inventor of the BlackBerry and a key player in wireless technology. Indeed, Dr. Brundtland’s honest response was probably a wee bit embarrassing to this high-tech university.

The press, who were there during her presentation and interviewed her afterwards, did not give any information about her answers after her presentation.

At the reception following her speech, in a private conversation Dr. Brundtland asked one of the attendees how he became electrohypersensitive (EHS). They discussed how the environment needs to be modified to reduce electrosmog exposure in order to protect health. They also discussed how difficult it is to make these modifications due to logistics, costs, and lack of understanding within the public health arena

Ever since “Our Common Future” (commonly referred to as the Brundtland report on sustainable development) was published, I have been an admirer of this remarkable woman who is not afraid to speak the truth, knowing that people like Michael Repacholi will attack her no matter what she says.

Indeed, the personal attacks resumed several weeks ago and seem totally unprovoked. I wonder why Repacholi feels it is necessary to criticize his former boss? Expect he is still protecting his friends in the telecom industry, which is what he did when he worked for the WHO.

I recall attending a meeting that Dr. Repacholi organized at the University of Ottawa quite a few years ago. It was attended by a small group of people from the federal government, industry representatives and experts mostly from Canada.

Repacholi stated that he was disappointed that countries were not following WHO’s lead in establishing radiofrequency radiation (RFR) guidelines. He said that different guidelines just lead to confusion and risk for the credibility of the WHO. I stood up and said that countries would follow the WHO but the WHO is failing to lead.

Later Repacholi asked how we could prevent lawsuits against the cell phone industry. This question was most revealing. It was obvious that his concern was for the welfare of the telecom industry rather than the health and welfare of the world’s population.

I believe that Dr. Repacholi was once a good scientist but something happened along the road to the WHO. Some lose their way and some, like Dr. Brundtland, become Elders—the wise among us—who are here to reduce pain and suffering and to bring social justice to the forefront of decision-making.

Her statement on the Elders is that: We are individuals who are speaking without any outside pressures. In that context we can create the potential for change.

We need more people like her.

If Gandhi were still alive, he would be a member of The Elders. Here is one of Gandhi’s quotes that fit the Brundtland/Repacholi situation.

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win”–Mahatma Gandhi.

Thank you Dr. Brundtland for your honesty.

_____

Note the “direct quotes” are drawn from memory and are not necessary verbatim.

Dr. Magda Havas is Associate Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University (Canada) and she teaches and does research on the biological and health effects of electromagnetic energy.

January 23, 2012. In October 2011, Moses Znaimer, President of Zoomer Media, invited me to give a talk at the Zoomer Life Conference in Toronto. Below is short video based on that presentation.

In this video I present information about the harmful effects of electrosmog and the beneficial effects of devices that generate pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF). In Europe these PEMF devices are much more popular than they are in North America. They are used to treat pain, to enhance healing of bone fractures, to treat depression and other psychological disorders, to promote circulation and functioning of the immune system.

In order to better understand how electromagnetic energy affects living organisms, it is important to consider a broad range of exposures and both the harmful and beneficial effects documented in the literature.

Fortunately we have some excellent doctors, scientists, and engineers who have been working with PEMFs for decades and who are willing to share their understanding of this technology. The work of Dr. Rainer Klopp in Germany is particularly enlightening and is mentioned in the video, as is the work of Dr. Thomas Rau at the Swiss Paracelsus Clinic, Dr. Jeff Daskalakis at the University of Toronto, Dr. Jeff Marrongelle at the Bioenergimed Metabolic Institute in Pennsylvania, and Dr. Roland Drolet in Quebec. The devices mentioned in this video include those that promote bone healing; transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression; Rhumart for rheumatism and arthritis; and iMRS and BEMER for a host of symptoms. Many devices are now available and I expect these devices will become more popular here in North America as well.

Various shielding products to reduce electrosmog exposure are also mentioned in this video.

Please note that our research in the area of PEMF is at an early stage. Inclusion of a product in this video does not necessarily imply endorsement.

]]>Microwave radiation affects the heart: Are the results real or are they due to interference?http://www.magdahavas.com/microwave-radiation-affects-the-heart-are-the-results-real-or-are-they-due-to-interference/
Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:58:27 +0000http://www.magdahavas.com/?p=3821

January 7, 2012. In 2010, we published a paper that showed radiation from a cordless phone at 2.4 GHz affects the heart. Click here for a copy of that publication and here to watch the youtube video.

We heard from many people who acknowledged that they experience heart palpitations in certain environments and are unable to use mobile phones and be near cell phone antennas and Wi-Fi routers. We also learned that some students in schools with Wi-Fi experience a racing heart. Cardiologist, Dr. Stephen Sinatra, believes that those who have undiagnosed heart conditions may be particularly vulnerable to radio frequency radiation.

In the past we were concerned about the radiation from a microwave oven affecting heart monitors. Those heart monitors have been improved and are now shielded against radio frequency radiation. Our hearts are NOT shielded and our exposure to radio frequency radiation includes not only microwave ovens but mobile phones, cell phone antennas, wireless routers, smart meters, wireless computer games, blue tooth, and wireless baby monitors.

Our study was criticized and the claim was made that our results were due to electromagnetic interference (EMI).

EMI refers to disruption of an electronic circuit with an electromagnetic signal. A common example is the static you hear as you drive under high voltage transmission lines with your radio tuned to an AM station. The static on the radio is EMI.

In our experiment the radiation from the cordless phone may have affected the receiver, placed near the heart, creating spurious results. If this were the case, the signal would interfere each time but that did not happen. We were convinced our results were real (i.e. that we were recording changes in the heart rather than changes in the equipment) but the criticism of EMI was worth testing.

Was there a critical distance where the radiation from the cordless phone interfered with the equipment we were using?

So we designed an experiment to test for EMI. The results are in our new video. Click here to watch the video.

NOTE: There is an error in our previous video (2010). We refer to the cordless phone as a DECT phone. Technically DECT phones radiate between 1880 and 1930 MHz and the phone we used provides a signal at 2400 MHz. We do have DECT phones in North America but they operate at a different frequency than those in Europe. DECT 6.0 phones in U.S. and Canada operate at 1.9 GHz.